As per Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India, subjects of Police and Public Order are with the State Governments. However, the Government of India (GoI) has been supplementing the efforts of States affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
To address the LWE menace holistically, a National Policy and Action Plan to address LWE was approved in 2015. It envisages a multi-pronged strategy involving security related measures, development interventions, ensuring rights and entitlements of local communities etc.
Apart from flagship schemes, Government of India (GoI) has taken several specific initiatives in LWE affected States, with special thrust on expansion of road network, improving telecommunication connectivity, skilling and financial inclusion:
A. Construction of 17462 km roads is approved for LWE affected areas. Of these 11811 km roads have been constructed.
B. To improve telecom connectivity, 2343 mobile towers are installed in phase-I of the Mobile Tower Project, which are being upgraded to 4G.Under phase-II of the Mobile Tower Project 2542 Mobile Towers are under installation.
C. For financial inclusion of the local populace in these areas 1258 Bank Branches, 1348 ATMs and 22202 Banking Correspondents in 30 Most LWE Affected Districts and 4903 new Post Offices in 90 districts have been made functional during last 08 years.
D. For skill development 43 ITIs and 38 Skill Development Centres (SDCs) have been made functional in LWE affected districts.
E. For quality education in tribal blocks of LWE affected districts 245 Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS)have been sanctioned in 90 LWE affected districts, of which 121 are functional
To give further impetus for development in the most LWE affected districts, funds are provided to the States under ‘Special Central Assistance (SCA)’ to fill the critical gaps in public infrastructure and services. Rs.3130 crore has been released to the States since 2017-18 under the scheme. The scheme aims at strengthening the infrastructure in most LWE affected areas and the districts of concern. The steadfast implementation of the policy has resulted in consistent decline in violence.